


Happily Ever After

by Artemis_Egeria



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Clueless Vision, F/M, Fluff, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Pre-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Relationship, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 05:30:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14742854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemis_Egeria/pseuds/Artemis_Egeria
Summary: Vision is confused about humans and the stories they tell.





	Happily Ever After

**Author's Note:**

> I have fallen hard for this ship in the wake of Infinity War, and I am making up for lost time that I could have spent shipping them before.
> 
> One of my favorite tropes that I have seen in fanfiction for these two is their watching movies or reading books together to get caught up on American pop culture, so I thought I would explore that a bit.
> 
> References the Disney animated Cinderella (1950), Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998), Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine and the movie adaptation (2004), and Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix, but knowledge of those works is not necessary.

“There is another human custom that I do not understand.”

“What’s that, Vizh?”

“Why do humans constantly feel the need to retell the same story?”

“Like Rhodey’s tank story?”

“No, I understand the reasoning behind that; he feels that it is his greatest accomplishment and will impress listeners. But I have been reading the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Upon further research, it seems that most of those stories have thousands of different versions. Cinderella, for example, has analogues throughout the world and has spawned uncountable adaptations.”

“Sometimes it’s comforting to hear the same story again, and people like to challenge themselves to make an old story new again.”

“I suppose that makes sense.” He was still doubtful, but perhaps it was one of those ideas that would only become clear with time.

“Should we add some of those to our list?”

“Yes, I will make the amendments.”

\----------------------------

“This one says it’s a classic.”

“Don’t all movie covers attempt to boast about their good qualities?”

“Sure, but both Sam and Clint said we had to watch this one first.”

They fell silent as the animated castle and blue background came onto the screen. At the end of the movie, they turned to face each other for their usual post-movie discussion. “Well, that was charming, but I couldn’t help but focus on how the story defied all logic. Was there truly only one woman in the whole kingdom who fit the glass slipper? And if the shoe fit her so well, why did it fall off in the first place? Where did they come upon the technology to develop glass that would hold Cinderella’s weight while running and dancing? Why did the ---?” 

She held up a hand to stop the flow of his questions. “Movies don’t have to be realistic to be entertaining, Vizh. Sometimes you have to stop thinking to enjoy them properly.”

He nodded, brow still slightly furrowed. “Did you enjoy it?”

“Yeah, it was great. But her relationship with the prince was too easy. One dance with the prince and suddenly they’re in love and getting married?” She shook her head. “That just doesn’t happen.”

His mouth drew down into a frown. “You chided me not a moment ago for calling the movie unrealistic.”

She shrugged. “Fair enough. I just can’t help what bothers me. I prefer relationships that develop over time. Love doesn’t mean anything if you just fall into it blindly. It’s so much better if you build from a deep bond. It takes time.”

\------------------

After a few more versions of Cinderella, they reached _Ever After: A Cinderella Story_. 

“The ratings for this movie are curious. The collected ratings from Metacritic give the movie a score of 66%, and the Internet Movie Database rates it at a 7 out of 10. However, the overall score from Rotten Tomatoes is 91%.”

“People like different things in movies. And some people are movie snobs. They only like movies if they’ve won awards or are ‘artistic.’” She made air quotes as she said the last word. Vision had become familiar enough with the gesture to recognize the sarcasm in it. “Let’s just see. Natasha recommended this one.”

They settled back against the cushions. As the movie played, Vision found himself far more captivated by Wanda’s reactions than by the movie itself. She seemed to enjoy it immensely. 

“I think that one’s my favorite so far. What did you think?”

To his embarrassment, he could not think of a single plot point to discuss. He quickly scanned through a summary to come up with a suitable reply. “I felt that the protagonist was very admirable in how her focus was on the well-being of her family. She did not dress as a noblewoman to escape briefly from her step-mother and step-sisters, but only to save a member of her household.”

Wanda nodded. “And she fought for her prince and herself. She didn’t wait to be saved.”

“But do you not have the same concerns about their relationship? It seemed that the main action of the movie took place over only a few days. They were still married by the end of it.”

“I guess it just feels much longer. At least they had actual conversations about things that were important to them, like Danielle’s books and Henry’s fears about being king.”

\-----------------------------

A series of missions and increased trainings put a stop to any movie watching or book reading for a few weeks. One morning after a rare down day Wanda handed him a slim paperback with a girl in pseudo-medieval style dress on the cover, which read _Ella Enchanted_. “Here, I read this in one sitting last night. I thought we could watch the movie adaptation tonight.”

“That would be most agreeable.”

After a morning of physical training, they were released for the afternoon. He read through the book Wanda had given him quickly. While the writing style was very simplistic and the characters seemed quite young, he enjoyed this retelling the most of any Cinderella story so far. He admired the selflessness of the protagonist, to give up her desire to marry the prince in order to avoid possible harm to him. The more adaptations he examined the more he appreciated Wanda’s criticism of the earlier animated Cinderella movie. The development of Ella’s relationship with the prince felt much more, for lack of a better word, organic. The thought brought him a pang of sadness. While he might appreciate the relationship better from a character-building and narrative perspective, he was not entirely sure that he could grasp the different emotions their romance elicited.

Nonetheless, when he met Wanda in the lounge, he felt anticipation build to see the story play out on screen. However, by a quarter of the way through the movie, he knew that he was not seeing a true representation of the material. It only got worse as the movie went on. He was still far behind many of the other Avengers in the area of movies watched, but he could recognize a poor product when he saw one. He risked a glance at Wanda, and her scowl indicated that she was having similar feelings.

“That was horrible! They didn’t include any of the good stuff from the book.”

“I concur. It was disappointing. Perhaps we should just discuss the book instead.”

She nodded. 

“I found the relationship more satisfying than others.”

Vision realized his mistake immediately. “Told you so,” Wanda crowed. “Their relationship was much more convincing than other interpretations. They have a shared history over months instead of days.”

“Yes, the characters do seem to have a deep knowledge of and appreciation for each other.”

\--------------------------

Wanda held the book that he had recommended, _Just Ella_ , in her hands.

“This was a good choice, Vizh. I think it’s my new favorite.” She placed the book on the coffee table and sat down in her traditional place next to him on the sofa. They had agreed to meet before the team’s movie night. She drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them close to her. 

“Why is that?” He had appreciated the book’s subversion of expectations for Cinderella retellings, but in all other ways he thought it was inferior to other versions they had experienced.

“I really liked how Ella got herself to the ball on her own, with no one’s help. And I love that she fell in love with the quiet, unassuming tutor who asked philosophical questions, not the rich prince who was actually cruel and stupid.” Her cheeks suddenly took on a color that matched her name, and she hid her face in her knees.

“Wanda, are you alright?” 

“Fine, Vizh. Don’t worry about me.”

Sam came into the room at that moment. He looked at them, but sat down in the armchair next to the sofa without comment. The rest soon joined them. Wanda gradually uncurled. He did notice that she continually glanced at him and looked quickly away. 

When the movie night broke up, he waited until the others had left to say, “Wanda, may I ask you a question?”

“Sure, Vizh.”

“Our discussion of this retelling seems to have upset you more than the others. You said you were fine, but you displayed signs of increased heart rate, possible fever, and anxiety. Do you wish to talk about it further?”

“I’m not upset, really. I’ve just realized something that I’ve been denying to myself. I have a lot to think about.”

“Oh. If you change your mind, you only have to ask, and I would be more than willing to listen.”

She smiled as she stood. “Thanks, Vizh. Maybe in a while. Good night.”

“Good night.” He remained in the same position for a long while after that, his mind no longer on the oddities of human storytelling, but on Wanda’s reactions. He determined that he would find a more suitable version for their next discussion.

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism is always welcome, particularly with regard to characterization/voice.


End file.
